A Canton, Ohio, police officer threatened the life of a concealed carry permit holder. When he discovered the driver he had pulled over was exercising his legal right to carry a gun, Officer Daniel Harless exploded in a tirade that included threatening to put 10 bullets into the driver and not lose any sleep over it.

While it is Ohio law that concealed carry permit holders, during interactions with police, should tell them that they are carrying a concealed weapon, the officer’s dashboard camera appears to show Harless’s demeanor to be overly aggressive and one several occasions ordered the driver to remain silent.

After nearly 7 minutes of ranting, when the driver finally was able to tell the officer, Harless then goes on another vicious tirade where he threatened to blast the driver in his mouth. The video shows that the officer continues to scold the driver and actually threatened to kill the man. “I tell you what I should have done… pulled my Glock 40 and put ten bullets in your a–, and let you drop.”

While most police officers respect a person’s right to carry a concealed weapon, there are some who just refuse to accept it. Concealed carry is the law in Ohio and police officers must come to accept it. Most seem to be able to face this situation without losing their composure, but officer Harless’s reaction is indicative of a larger societal problem. Some in our society just refuse to accept that guns are legal and necessary.

Illinois is a prime example of this kind of ignorance and intolerance, as it is the only state that still refuses to allow its citizens their right to carry concealed weapons. But there are stirrings in Washington that may allow for this to change.

However, the people of Ohio have the right to carry concealed weapons, regardless of what officer Harless believes. The police in Wisconsin, a state which recently passed its own concealed carry law, could learn from this incident.

Citizens carry concealed weapons to protect themselves from harm, no matter where that harm comes from. If police are going to threaten or, God-forbid, actually kill a citizen over a legal concealed weapon, what are carriers of legal weapons supposed to do? Stand there and allow a tyrannical police officer to kill them.

Any reasonable person can most likely see where this argument is headed. If the police cannot come to grips with concealed carry laws, then there will be some big problems ahead.

Officer Harless’s actions seem to show the dangers that can come about when police refuse to respect a citizen’s right to carry a concealed weapon. The driver could have easily believed that officer Harless meant him harm, at which point violence could have ensued.

If someone is going to threaten to arbitrarily kill American citizens, is this not what the right to self-protection is all about? Many see the right to bear arms as the founding father’s way to make sure that the ordinary citizen always had the ability to resist a tyrannical government. And is not a police officer arbitrarily threatening to kill ordinary citizens the ultimate example of tyranny?

Thank you Canton, Ohio, police officer Daniel Harless for reminding the people of America the real reason concealed carry laws are necessary.